Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Sean Astin is one of the newest members of Sockpuppet Theatre, a podcast that reenacts actual internet flame wars, meltdowns, and other nonsense with, yes, sock puppets!

Other members of the troupe who contribute their voices include Rob Paulsen (Donatello in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"), April Winchell (Cruella De Vil in "101 Dalmatians"), Pamela Adlon (Bobby Hill in "King of the Hill") and more.

For more information on what this is all about, check out Sockpuppet's FAQ. (Strong language warning!)

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

"Beyond the Screens" will have interviews with Sean Astin and Craig Parker in their December 15 podcast episode entitled "Middle-earth and Beyond."

You can hear brief snippets from each interview near the end of the Dec 1 episode beginning at about 40:30. Sean talks about what sets directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson apart, and Craig discusses how he is drawn to fantasies. Listen here.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Rob Paulsen will be welcoming fellow "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cast members Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, Mae Whitman, Kevin Michael Richardson, and via Skype, Jason Biggs for a live podcast of Rob's "Talking Toons." The event will take place Friday, December 14, 8pm at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club in Universal City Walk, LA. Tickets are $20.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

As reported by TVGuide.com, Goonie Corey Feldman ("Mouth") is joining Sean Astin ("Mikey") on the Nickelodeon animated series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," which airs Saturdays at 11am ET. Corey is already familiar with the reptilian franchise—he voiced Donatello in two TMNT movies in the early 90s. In fact, he had also auditioned for the new show to be Raphael, the role that Sean won. (And just to bring things full circle, Donatello is now voiced by Rob Paulsen, who was Raphael in the first TMNT show!)

"If it was anyone else I would have taken it harder, but I love Sean," said Corey, who lost the role because his voice was too "raspy." Still, executive producer Ciro Nieli promised to find a way to get Corey on the show. Exactly how he did that is still a secret.

"His role is a perfect complement to his relationship with Sean," said Ciro. "It couldn't be any better." The plan is to bring Corey back for several episodes.

"The coolest part is it's two Goonies working together again after all these years," Corey said. "Which is crazy, because we're all such good friends."

Of course, the question arises of whether or not there will be a Goonies 2.

"It will happen," Sean said. "I'm 1000 percent certain there will be a sequel. I will bet my children on it."

Corey is more cautious. "Oh my God," he says. "I am betting no child on this matter."

Sean discussed the recent "Rudy" reference in Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama "Newsroom," his iconic role in "The Goonies," the Dominican baseball movie "Sugar," and told some behind the scenes anecdotes about filming "Cabin Fever: Patient Zero," a horror movie due for release next year.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Sean was a guest on 12y2 radio show hosted by Sergio Carlo and Karina Larrauri in the Dominican Republic today. Much of the interview is in Spanish, but some is in English.

Sean talks about his costars in Cabin Fever: Patient Fever, and described his character: the only person immune to the effects of a deadly flesh-eating disease. Researchers capture (Sean's word!) him to study him in an effort to find a cure. Sean described a scene he filmed the evening before, of wading in a giant water tank filled with dead bodies. As he was filming in a cave set, he started subconsciously singing the aria from The Goonies to himself! He has been filming 13 hours a day.

Sean appeared on ABC's The Chew today, in a segment filmed in September while Sean was in New York City promoting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He gets a tour of several of the most popular pizza joints in the city! Watch here:

Production company Indomina has announced that filming has begun on "Cabin Fever: Patient Zero" in the Dominican Republic under the direction of Kaare Andrews based on a story by Jake Wade Wall, creator of "The Hitcher." The movie stars Sean Astin, Jillian Murray, Brando Eaton, Lydia Hearst, Mitch Ryan, Ryan Donowho, Graham Currie and local actresses Solly Duran and Claudette Lali.

The story involves a group of young friends on a yacht that runs aground on an island housing a mysterious research facility. Flesh-eating disease ensues!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Sean will be a guest on ABC's The Chew on Friday November 2, 1pm ET. The episode of the hour-long daytime foodie show was recorded when Sean was in New York City in September promoting Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Sean Astin talks about Stan Lee's use of morality in his writing, and the comparison between comics and other literary works, such as The Lord of the Rings, and more in this extended interview from "With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story."

Sean's reaction to being called a "walking lump of charisma" by Stan Lee.
Animated gif by gollykeeper on Tumblr.

Sean Astin attended the Dallas Fan Days this weekend, October 19-21. Although only scheduled to appear on Saturday and Sunday, Sean showed up on Friday, ready to start signing. The con organizers found a spot for him, though he did have to set up his table himself!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

On October 5, Ring*Con held a press conference with some of the key guests, including Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Team Starkid, Craig Parker, Craig Horner, Mark Ferguson, Joe Dempsie and more.

Key Sean moments:

9:00 Sean gives Billy some water, LOL.

10:30 Sean answers a question about the attraction of fantasy.

14:12 Sean and Billy talk about the Hobbits being in communication with each other, the continuing influence of The Lord of the Rings in their lives and the Rudy reference in Adam Sorkin's The Newsroom.

20:50 The LOTR stars are asked why none of them are in The Hobbit and Sean explains why, followed by a brief mention of Starkids :-)

28:40 Sean answers a question about special moments at conventions

43:55 Sean responds to a question about the differences in acting in a fantasy movie vs. other movies. "When it gets right down to it, it's all about the hair."

Thursday, October 18, 2012

MELBOURNE, Oct 18 AAP They live in the sewer. They love pizza. And they'll kick your butt if you step out of line.Yep, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, those half-shell heroes of the '80s and '90s, are back once again, this time in a slick new animated series premiering this week on pay-TV station Nickelodeon [in Australia and New Zealand].

Among the actors lending their voices to the "bodacious" quartet is Sean Astin, whose extensive body of work includes the much-loved '80s adventure The Goonies, the touching sports drama Rudy and, of course, the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Sean's into anniversary celebrations lately! After speaking at the 15th anniversary of First Things First last month, on October 11, Sean spoke at the 20th anniversary Celebration of the Rose Hill Center in Holly, MI. Sean took over for his mom Anna Pearce (Patty Duke) who was unable to attend.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- LifeKraze, the social networking platform and iPhone application that rewards and encourages members' personal accomplishments, announced actor Sean Astin (Lord Of The Rings) will be leading the company's seasonal celebration of running. Astin, a long distance runner for the last 25 years, will be using the platform to share his return to the sport after a recent injury and will also be sharing his #Run3rd campaign with the LifeKraze community. The celebration will feature a variety of co-sponsors, which provide different ways for LifeKraze members to engage in the celebrated sport.

Astin's #Run3rd initiative encourages runners to use their activity to benefit others. Since the introduction of #Run3rd, the hashtag has received international use and has harnessed over 50,000 followers. "I run 1st for myself, I run 2nd for my family, I run 3rd to help others," said Astin. "I'm excited to share my passion for running with the LifeKraze community as I gear up to start training again. The online community is encouraging me to move from injury and its attendant lethargy to optimal performance." The launch of the Running Days initiative also brings other running legends to the LifeKraze community, including Mark Covert, who holds the American record for longest continuous streak of daily running: over 44 years and over 150,000 miles run. Covert, now a collegiate track coach, will be sharing the continuation of the streak with daily posts on the LifeKraze site.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Sean gave the keynote speech to more than 1,000 guests at the 15th Anniversary Celebration of First Things First on September 25. First Things First is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening families in Hamilton County, Tennessee through education, collaboration and mobilization. It is a community resource that collaborates with and is supported by a broad cross-section of community organizations, groups and individuals.

Sean Astin's Q&A session at NY Comic Con with special guest appearance by Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld novels. Sean starred as Twoflower in the Sky One production of Pratchett's "The Colour of Magic."

Many thanks to Evelien @evelienh for providing us with this wonderful report of her Ring*Con experiences! [Note you can click on any image for larger version.]

~~~

Ring*Con in Bonn, Germany celebrated its 10th anniversary BIG this year, “Back to the roots”! It was originally created as a Lord of the Rings convention, and even though these last few years it has become more fantasy in general themed, it is still spirited by the original core fan base and a profound love of anything Tolkien related. When they announced at last year’s event it would be the 10th year, and that Ring*Con 2012 would take place the weekend of my birthday (5-8 October, of course add to that it is the year of The Hobbit release), I immediately signed up for a gold ticket. And I am so glad I did!

Billy Boyd was one of the first guests to be announced (his second visit to Ring*Con, the first time was in 2004), and I saw I wasn’t the only one who then asked the organization… GREAT, now what about Sean Astin?? They never replied to us, and the guest list soon got filled up (with great names… but no Sean). I stopped thinking about it. Then about a month before the event, suddenly a last minute surprise announcement, a new STAR guest! Sean’s name immediately went to the top of the list.. and when I read that I think I must have given my neighbors quite a scare... YES! Sean is coming!!

Friday 5th October, the first day (my birthday), was a very hectic day. There were lots of great panels and photo sessions, and no way to clone myself to do it all. But the first photo session that I did was with Sean! There were many people lined up, so it was all a bit rushed, and I couldn’t really say much to him besides a quick hello. Still, seeing him on my birthday really made my day! And I love how that photo turned out! Incidentally, I’m also wearing my Vox Populi wristband there!

Then it was time for the opening ceremony, and seeing Sean and Billy on stage together was a special moment for all of us present! Even some of the other actors on stage got a little emotional. Sean came bouncing out, full of energy, and he and Billy pounced on each other. Sean (after high 5ing Team Star kid) had also prepared a little speech in German, and Billy… tried to help? They started dancing when the last bit of music came on, and the crowd went wild! What a great convention this already promised to be! I had one of the best spots too thanks to my gold ticket, center second row!

Teen friends, Steve, Carrie, Cooper, and Gameboy embark on a weekend camping trip lead by their church youth group leader Stuart (Sean Astin) and his wife Beth (Erin Bethea). Joining them is an outsider Ashley, a self-involved rich kid, whose attitude causes a major commotion within the group, specifically between her and Carrie. Before it gets too out of hand though, Stuart takes this opportunity to share with the kids the incredibly powerful biblical story of Hosea; a story of immovable faith, impeccable commitment, and impervious love.

The movies also stars Savannah Jayde, Sammi Hanratty, Kenton Duty, Terrence Hardy and Creagen Dow, and features a guest appearance by Patty Duke.

About This Blog

"I name before you all Frodo of the Shire and Samwise his servant. And the bards and the minstrels should give them new names: Bronwe athan Harthad and Harthad Uluithiad, Endurance beyond Hope and Hope Unquenchable." —Gandalf in JRR Tolkien's "The History of Middle Earth" Volume 9: Sauron Defeated